Woman Is Suspected Of Mishandling Federal Funds

Theft Allegations Under Investigation

September 15, 1999|By Mark R. Madler. Special to the Tribune.

A Spring Grove woman is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for allegedly mishandling as much as $75,000 while employed as the director of a federal educational center in Illinois, court documents revealed Tuesday.

Agency investigators went to the home of Lynn Stinnette in the 7300 block of Edgewood Road last week with a search warrant, seeking evidence into allegations of theft, theft by deception, forgery and money laundering, according to the documents.

Stinnette is the former director of the Center for School and Community Development, an arm of the Oak Brook-based North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.

The North Central laboratory, a think tank, is one of nine education labs in the nation funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement of the U.S. Department of Education. Its purpose is to bridge the gap between research and the classroom and promote change in American education.

The Center for School and Community Development, also based in Oak Brook, provides technical assistance, training and consulting services to schools.

Stinnette is accused of creating false purchase orders totaling $74,459 over a 3 1/2-year period, according to a complaint filed Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education requesting a search warrant.

A spokesman for the Department of Education declined comment, as did a man who answered a knock on the door at Stinnette's home Tuesday night. James Graham, an attorney for Stinnette, would only say it "was still early on in the investigation,"

Besides running the Center for School and Community Development, Stinnette owned two educational companies--Book Summaries for Educators and The Knowledge Enhancement Group.

As part of her duties at the center, Stinnette was responsible for signing purchase-requisition forms for materials then sold to schools.

The complaint said Stinnette is suspected of creating false purchase orders that claimed the two companies she owned had delivered products to clients of the center and laboratory, then kept the money paid for the phony orders.

According to the complaint, a consulting firm hired by the laboratory conducted an internal investigation that showed Stinnette filed false purchasing orders from June 1994 to January 1998.

"Since Stinnette . . . completed these (orders) there was no need for further approval. When the invoices were received from (Book Summaries for Educators and The Knowledge Enhancement Group), Stinnette simply signed the invoices confirming that the products were received by the customers," the complaint reads. "She submitted the invoice(s), along with all required documentation, for payment. The investigation concluded Stinnette acted alone."

The complaint said that when the consulting firm contacted two Chicago schools shown as customers on two purchase orders, it was told by school officials they had not placed the orders.